Family Guy Volume 3

It's an event that no one imagined would happen, but the new season of Family Guy is now available on DVD to add to the already classic episodes that many assumed would have to suffice forever. It was the DVD collections that preceded this third volume that's to be thanked for the return of Family Guy to network television and now it's as if the series never missed a step, raging on with some of the finest and most surreal writing to date. This collection of episodes, which finished their run only a couple of months ago, contains ridiculous story lines such as Peter eating nickels and murderous love triangles involving a bear. One of the best qualities of Family Guy is its knack of referencing obscure pop culture from the '80s and this season they went all out with tons of nods to everything from He-Man to a brilliant scene-by-scene Star Wars ceremony. This new season of Family Guy is quite amazing and incredibly hilarious, and you can't help but get a little sentimental knowing that Stewie and Brian are back in our lives. The DVD is packed with more extras than previous editions, including a featurette on the hardcore viewership it gained in re-runs that eventually brought the show back. There's a great deleted scene of Brian doing a musical number for the remedial English class he taught, showing how their inevitable lives in minimum wage jobs such as janitorial work are a benefit to society, as well as a small piece on the show's music that ranges from one of the last orchestras in television to the recreation of A-Ha's "Take On Me." We also get a couple of table reads that are spliced in with actual footage, which is a shame because it's a thrill just to see Seth Green doing the voice of Chris and watching Seth MacFarlane have conversations with himself as the voices of Peter, Stewie, Brian and Quagmire. With more extras offered and high-energy writing fresh from cancellation it's very good to hear MacFarlane confidently declare that Family Guy should be around for a long time. (Fox)